Chapter 526: Gathering Evidence

Chapter 526: Gathering Evidence

Hua Feixue was so furious she started cursing up a storm. What she didn't notice was Ji Yuntang quietly pulling out a camera and snapping a photo of the moment Empress Dowager Yuan and the National Preceptor embraced and kissed.

The Empress Dowager and the National Preceptor kissed for what felt like ages before they finally pulled apart, reluctant to let go.

The National Preceptor asked the Empress Dowager, "Cousin, I haven't been by to see Chao'er lately. How's he doing?"

The Empress Dowager sighed and said softly, "Chao'er's health is still the same—he's all weak and keeps fainting out of nowhere. The doctor said before that his heart never fully developed, and he has to take his meds on schedule every day just to stay alive."

"But the day before yesterday, Yulian wrote to me saying he's been refusing his meds lately. He says the smell makes him wanna puke, and he's been throwing fits, smashing a bunch of porcelain and medicine bowls."

"I've been swamped with Chu Yi's funeral arrangements and haven't had a chance to leave the palace to check on Chao'er. I had the servants sweet-talk him, promising to bring him to the palace to play in a few days, and that's the only way he agreed to take his meds."

The National Preceptor wrapped his arms around the Empress Dowager and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Cousin, you've been through a lot. Even though Chao'er is our kid, because of me, he had to be registered under the Yuan family name just to have a decent future."

"I know you've fought with your father over this for years and made a ton of compromises—handing over two hundred thousand troops to the Yuan family and promising to make him Grand Chancellor, plus giving his son a third-rank post. That's the only way he agreed to back Chao'er's rise to the throne."

"Otherwise, with just the two of us, there's no way we could've gotten the old geezers from the other four great families to go along with it."

Bringing that up made the Empress Dowager feel annoyed all over again.

After she and her cousin Jiang Yanfan secretly had a kid, Jiang Yanfan couldn't raise Yuanchao openly since he already had a wife and two children.

The Empress Dowager couldn't stand the idea of her son being raised under some other woman's name, and on top of that, as a bastard who couldn't even be acknowledged.

So she went to beg her father, Grand Marshal Yuan, and after a ton of pleading, he agreed to let Yuanchao be registered under the Yuan name—but only as a side branch, not a direct heir.

The Empress Dowager knew exactly why.

The Yuan family was a top-tier clan with a hundred years of history, a real scholarly household. Grand Marshal Yuan, a two-dynasty veteran and a big shot in the Five Great Families, cared more about family reputation and honor than anything else—he couldn't stand even a speck of dirt on that.

But of all people, his most beloved daughter had secretly hooked up with her married cousin and popped out a grandson for him.

How could Grand Marshal Yuan put up with something that wrecked the family's reputation and was flat-out scandalous?

He shot it down a hundred times and ordered the Empress Dowager to get rid of the kid.

But the Empress Dowager was dead set on keeping the child.

Back then, she was only Consort Yuan—nowhere near Empress Dowager, and still a long way off from even being Empress.

The Empress Dowager knew in her gut that this might be her only shot at having a kid. To keep Yuanchao, she got on her knees in front of Grand Marshal Yuan and made a vow.

Within five years, she'd become Empress for sure, then grab power from the Late Emperor and make the Yuan family untouchable in court.

That promise was exactly what made Grand Marshal Yuan finally see how ambitious his daughter really was. He bent the rules and let her keep Yuanchao, but only under the name of a side branch of the Yuan family.

And the Empress Dowager didn't let him down. In just three years, she went from Consort Yuan to Empress, then slowly killed off the Late Emperor, took his power, and made herself Empress Dowager.

She had the Chu imperial clan wiped out one by one, and even Emperor Chu ended up crushed under her heel.

Grand Marshal Yuan figured that since the Chu clan had no one left, the new Crown Prince could be picked from the legitimate heirs of their own main branch.

He'd already picked his guy—his pride and joy, his youngest son, Yuan Jun.

But out of nowhere, the Empress Dowager said that to keep the heads of the other four great families and the court officials happy and feeling like things were fair, she'd already agreed the new Crown Prince would be chosen from the Five Great Families.

Any learned scholar between fifteen and thirty could throw their hat in the ring.

In the end, the Five Great Families put up a young guy who was smarter and more impressive than Yuan Jun.

That pissed Grand Marshal Yuan off big time. Everyone else kept the good stuff in the family, looking out for their own kin, but the Empress Dowager had just handed the throne to an outsider. Even he couldn't believe it when he heard.

But that wasn't the end of it. The Empress Dowager told him to hold his horses.

It wasn't until later that Grand Marshal Yuan found out she wanted her own son, Yuanchao, on the throne. To dodge pushback from the families, she and the National Preceptor worked together—one played the heavy, the other played the nice guy—until finally the National Preceptor stepped up and picked Yuanchao.

Grand Marshal Yuan figured, fine, Yuanchao it is—at least he's got Yuan blood in him, which beats handing the throne to some other family.

So with his backing, the next Crown Prince was decided on, but they kept it under wraps.

Nobody had a clue that Yuanchao was actually the Empress Dowager and the National Preceptor's real son. She'd planned from day one to put Yuanchao on the throne of the Xishu Kingdom.

Since this plan was kept from Grand Marshal Yuan, his hopes got crushed, and that's what sparked the falling-out between father and daughter.

Luckily, in the end, the Empress Dowager promised Grand Marshal Yuan some serious perks—not just military power, but also getting several younger Yuan family members promoted into court with official posts—and that finally won him over.

After all that, the Empress Dowager learned that even your own flesh and blood can turn on you over money and power.

Sure, she loved the Yuan family, but she loved herself way more.

And now that she had a son, of course she wanted to give Yuanchao the best of everything.

Shaking off her thoughts, the Empress Dowager turned to the National Preceptor and said, "Cousin, I've noticed the big families and the court officials have been real nosy about the next Crown Prince lately, always sending people to sniff around for Chao'er. You don't think they'd try to hurt him, do you?"

The National Preceptor reassured her, "No way. Chao'er's place is totally safe. Even his food and meds are handled by trusted people. He's never once shown his face in public."

"The only thing eating at me now is his health. Chu Yi's burial is tomorrow, and the Crown Prince Investiture Ceremony is the day after. Chao'er's never even left the house, let alone gone through a ceremony that complicated. I'm scared his body just can't take it."

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Cousin, don't worry. I've already got that covered."

"I've got Doctor Yun staying in the palace. From now on, she'll be Chao'er's personal royal doctor to help get his health back on track."

------------